Chapter 10 - THE WOMAN IN ROOM 308
Claire did not sleep.
At 3:11 a.m., Oliver finally settled.
Emma slept on the couch with one hand gripping Claire’s cardigan.
Margaret remained at the dining table.
Claire joined her.
“You were cruel to Emma before you knew who we were.”
Margaret sighed.
“I knew who Emma was.”
Claire stiffened.
“What?”
“I recognized her at the gate.”
“So your story about not expecting us is a lie.”
“Partly.”
Claire stood.
Margaret raised a hand.
“I did not expect Oliver.”
“You knew my daughter.”
“Yes.”
“Then why treat her like that?”
“Because Victor Hale had a man two rows behind you.”
Claire sat again.
Margaret explained.
She had recognized one of Hale’s surveillance operatives during boarding.
If she welcomed Claire openly, Hale would know they were connected.
“So you acted like an entitled stranger.”
“I tried to make you hate me enough to move away.”
“You succeeded.”
“I know.”
“Why take Emma’s seat?”
“Because Daniel told me years ago that Emma notices things adults ignore.”
Claire remembered the black wallet.
“You wanted her to find the badge.”
“I needed someone innocent to discover it publicly.”
Claire stared.
“So you used my child.”
“Yes.”
Margaret did not excuse it.
Claire appreciated that more than another lie.
“And the envelope?”
“I hid it beneath the seat before boarding.”
“For Emma to find?”
“For anyone. Once discovered, it would become evidence. Hale couldn’t quietly destroy it.”
Claire shook her head.
“You gambled with my daughter.”
“I gambled because Daniel disappeared forty-eight hours ago.”
Claire looked up.
“What?”
Margaret slid a photograph across the table.
A grainy security still.
Daniel entering a medical complex.
Timestamped two days earlier.
Claire’s heart pounded.
“Where?”
“Baltimore.”
“He’s in Maryland?”
“He was.”
“What medical complex?”
Margaret handed her a page.
ST. MATTHEW PRIVATE NEUROLOGICAL INSTITUTE.
Patient registry.
Room 308.
Name: DAVID WHITLOCK.
Claire whispered, “That’s Daniel.”
“We believe so.”
“Why was he there?”
“Unknown.”
“Was he hurt?”
“Probably.”
“Who took the picture?”
“Our source.”
“Who?”
Margaret hesitated.
“A nurse.”
Claire stared.
“Name?”
“Rachel Shaw.”
The name hit Claire like a physical blow.
Rachel Shaw had been Daniel’s girlfriend before Claire.
The woman he supposedly had not spoken to in fifteen years.
Claire remembered finding the name once in an old college yearbook.
Daniel had laughed.
“Ancient history.”
Apparently not.
“Rachel works at the hospital?”
“Yes.”
“And she’s your source?”
“Yes.”
“Did Daniel know?”
“Yes.”
Claire stood.
“I’m going to Baltimore.”
Margaret shook her head.
“No.”
“I wasn’t asking.”
“Claire, Hale expects that.”
“Daniel is my husband.”
“And may be bait.”
“I don’t care.”
“You have two children.”
Claire turned.
“Exactly.”
Margaret fell silent.
At dawn, they created a plan.
Alan would stay with Emma and Oliver.
Claire hated leaving them.
But taking them closer to Hale would be worse.
Emma refused.
“No.”
“Emma.”
“If Dad is alive, I’m coming.”
“You are ten.”
“He’s my dad.”
“And I’m your mother.”
Emma crossed her arms.
Claire recognized Daniel in the gesture.
“Mom, every adult in this story lied to me. You’re the only one who didn’t. Please don’t start now.”
Claire’s heart broke.
She knelt.
“I am not leaving because I don’t trust you. I’m leaving because I need you to protect Oliver.”
Emma looked at her brother.
Claire continued.
“You notice things.”
Margaret watched from the doorway.
Emma understood.
“You want me to watch everyone.”
“Yes.”
“Even Uncle Alan?”
Claire looked at Alan.
“Especially Uncle Alan.”
Alan sighed.
“Fair.”
Claire kissed both children.
Then she and Margaret drove east.
Eleven hours later they reached Baltimore.
St. Matthew Institute looked quiet.
Too quiet.
Room 308 was empty.
The bed had been stripped.
On the pillow sat a single red fox figurine.
Around its neck was a piece of paper.
Claire unfolded it.
May you like
Two words.
FREDERICK PANCAKE.
